Halloween at Horseland
by Roheryn's Knight
Summary: Bailey and Sarah set up a haunted trail ride with Will. Everybody gets to dress up and ride out on the trail just before dark but strange things start to happen...ON HOLD until further notice.
1. Chapter 1

Yay! My Halloween fic! This was fun to write and it's not done yet!

So Horseland was a kid's TV show and it belonged to Cookie something or other. Honestly, I thought the show was adorable. I loved it! Judge me if you will but I live for kids' shows. Plus, there were horses so that is just amazing on its own.

I hate introductions. I hate writing them, I hate reading them. In fact, when I'm reading a book and I come to introductions, I generally skip ahead a couple paragraphs and then when it doesn't make sense, I grumble to myself and skip back and read the introduction. I just hate introductions. But I wanted to write this so Horseland-lovers and horse-lovers alike could read this so I felt like I had to introduce the characters with a bit of personality and background views. Goodie goodie.

Incidentally, every fact you will see about horses in here (I'm talking about general facts) is legit. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to horses. I've riding for eight years and I teach riding lessons. So don't argue with me.

* * *

><p><strong>Halloween at Horseland<strong>

"Did you get Sarah and Bailey's note about Will's change in lesson times?" Molly asked.

"_Sí_, it was very strange, no?" Molly's Spanish best friend, Alma, replied.

The two girls were riders at Horseland. They were boarders, along with their other best friends, Sarah and Bailey.

Sarah Whitney was the newest addition to their group. She was a wealthy girl with a caring and encouraging personality but tended to get emotional easily. Scarlet, her mare, was a beautiful black Arabian with red highlights. Sometimes Scarlet could be a bit of a loner but she was tolerant and levelheaded. Like her owner, she could get herself worked up easily and was very high-strung but Sarah was a natural with horses and knew how to calm her down. The running joke amongst the four of them was that Sarah was a horse whisperer, but she was very modest about it.

Out of her three friends, Sarah was closest with Bailey Handler, whose parents owned Horseland. A bit of a risk-taker and daredevil, Bailey had a habit of going into situations head first without thinking about the outcome but he loved animals and treasured his friends. His Kiger Mustang, Aztec, was a bay with a darker mane and tail with blue highlights. He had boyish indifference that could infuriate his friends but in truth he could be overly-protective of his mare friends, which infuriated them all that much more; still, Aztec was brave, kindhearted, and a true friend.

Their Hispanic friend Alma Rodriguez was a down-to-earth, serious girl who loved to read. She could be a bit ambitious and competitive when it came to rivalries but on the whole she was a smart, thoughtful girl that enjoyed both reading about horses almost as much as she enjoyed riding horses with her friends. Her father, Jorge, was the stable manager at Horseland. Alma's mare, Button, is a black and white pinto with green highlights and a playful personality. A skilled show-jumper, Button could be ambitious and serious like her owner but on the whole she was levelheaded and steady.

Molly Washington, a playful African American girl, always looked for humor in a situation. She always looked for ways to tease her friends and make of them all, including herself. Sometimes, she didn't know when to stop and be serious but she was a reliable rider and friend to both her friends and her mare, Calypso. Calypso was an Appaloosa with a fair mane and tail that had pink highlights. A calm, compassionate horse, Calypso could be a little slow to understand but warm and determined.

The four friends sometimes rode with two other girls, the sisters Chloe and Zoey Stilton. Like Sarah, they were rich and rode horses but the likeness stopped there: the sister could be mean-spirited, vain competitive, lazy, and rude. However, the sisters' had another side to them where they could be kind, supportive, and sensitive. The two of them had a large crush of Bailey and always strove to impress him though he barely paid any attention to either of them except to tell them to shut up. Their horses, Chili and Pepper, were shallow and egotistical, with confidence to match. Chili, a light gray Dutch Warmblood stallion, thought himself the best horse at the stable at everything, especially dressage. His friend, Pepper, a dark gray Dutch Warmblood mare, could be snarky and competitive, primarily in jumping.

Lastly, the friends were often taught riding and life lessons by Bailey's older cousin, Will Taggert. Will was mature and perceptive, and, though he had dyslexia, he was an advanced rider. He was somewhat of a model figure to the rest of the gang. He liked to ride both Western and English, and taught both. Besides riding, he loved listening to Country music. His horse, Jimber, was a palomino stallion with black highlights in his mane and tail. Like Will, Jimber was an understanding and sensible leader, and older than most of the other horses.

Today was Halloween and Molly and Alma had a suspicion that Will, Bailey, and Sarah were up to something. Instead of their normal afternoon lesson, the note their friends had left said that the lesson was going to be later, when it was almost dark out.

"Why are we going to ride so late?" Alma asked with a frown. Their daily chores were done so the two girls were sat in the tack room waiting until they could get ready for their lesson.

"I don't know," Molly shrugged, "but it's Halloween! Anything could happen. Like . . . some ghosts of dead riders could turn up during the lesson!"

"Don't even joke about that." Alma said, shuddering lightly. "Ghosts give me the creeps." She twirled a lock of dark brown hair nervously, much to Molly's amusement.

Molly grinned at her friend and said in a low, ominous voice, "Do you want to go riding with the ghosts, Alma? _Oooooooh_!" She narrowed her large brown eyes and bared her teeth, trying to be scary.

"You will wish _you_ were riding with _los fantasmas_ in a minute!" Alma threatened, though she was smiling as well.

"Maybe I _am_ a ghost!" Molly countered, wiggling her fingers at Alma threateningly.

"And maybe I am a witch." Alma replied with a giggle and an eye-roll of her light brown eyes.

"Bailey's a zombie." Molly retorted.

"Sarah is a mummy." Alma noted.

"Will is . . . What's Will?" They stopped short to contemplate Molly's question.

The two of them pondered Will's true identity for a moment before Molly perked up again.

"I got it! Will is a vampire." She and Alma exchanged a ceremonious high-five then giggled together.

"Will is what now?" A familiar deep voice asked. The two girls looked over to see Will come into the room. He was the tallest boy at the stable, and had spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes and his usual horseshoe pendant around his neck. Unlike most of the riders there, Will wore jeans and a t-shirt when he rode whereas the others generally wore jodhpurs and traditional riding shirts. Bailey often wore jeans like his cousin.

"You're _un vampiro_." Alma informed him with a straight face. Molly had to clamp one hand over her mouth to hide her smile. Will chuckled and grinned at them both.

"Ah, my secret's out, then, it seems." He shook his head good-naturedly.

"Yep, we're on to you." Molly announced cheerfully.

Suddenly, Alma remembered their previous discussion.

"Will, why did you change our lesson time?" Alma asked with a slight crease between her eyebrows. Molly stopped smiling and looked at their instructor curiously.

"Well, it wasn't so much me as Bailey and Sarah. They didn't give me, the vampire teacher, much choice." Will said, still smiling widely.

"How come?" Molly asked.

"They've got something up their sleeves." Will told them mysteriously.

"Tell us, _por favor_!" Alma pleaded, aroused now.

"Yeah, what are they doing to our lesson?" Molly demanded, grinning again.

Will laughed at their eager expressions. "Alright, alright. Bailey and Sarah have been out on the trails all day, putting together a haunted trail ride for your lesson."

"A haunted trail ride?" Molly repeated excitedly.

"A haunted trail ride?" Alma repeated less excitedly.

Will caught sight of Alma's nervous expression and said comfortingly, "Don't worry. They're just setting up a few decorations out there. And yesterday, Bailey and I walked up and down the stable aisle, waving around sheets of paper and making noises so that the horses are desensitized of all of the stuff we put out there."

Alma perked up and grinned, caught up in Molly's enthusiasm. "This sounds fun!" She exclaimed.

Molly nodded eagerly. "Yeah!" But then her face fell slightly and she said, "Too bad we don't have costumes for us and the horses."

Will grinned crookedly and said, "Oh, Sarah took care of that. While Bailey and I ran up and down the aisle, Sarah worked on making costumes for everybody."

Alma and Molly beamed at Will and all but squealed at their wonderful surprise. "Forget Halloween!" Molly crowed, "It's Horse-o-weene!"

They could still hear Will laughing even after he'd closed the door to the tack room once he'd left.

"I wonder what Sarah made for us." Alma mused more seriously.

"Knowing Sarah, they'll be great no matter what!" Molly said, thinking her delight was shatterproof.

"What'll be great?" Asked a distinctly snobby voice. Two girls entered the room following the question. Molly's joy died right down and she scowled, crossing her arms over the front of her pink riding jump and sat down with a quiet huff.

Alma sat down as well and averted her eyes to avoid frowning at the two Stilton sisters. Instead, she pulled down the hem of her white shirt and adjusted the green riding vest she wore over it. Then she brushed dust off of her jodhpurs until someone cleared their throat impatiently. With an internal sigh of defeat, Alma looked up to see two beautiful faces glaring down at her.

Chloe Stilton, the girl who'd asked the question, was the older and more outgoing of the two. She had long, straight strawberry-blond hair that was held back with a light purple headband and large green cat eyes that were rimmed with kohl. Her light purple jumper was designer and matched her headband perfectly.

Zoey Stilton was quieter and sneakier than her sister but could be just as conceited and insolent. She had wavy, fiery red hair, the same green eyes as her sister, and freckles. She wore a designer light blue shirt and the same expensive jodhpurs and riding boots as her sister though in different colors.

"_Hola_," Alma said sweetly. She heard Molly muffle a snort beside but kept her gaze on the Stilton girls.

"_What_ will be great?" Zoey repeated for her sister, completely ignoring Alma's greeting.

"When you two take your horses to another barn." Molly replied quickly. "We'll have to throw a party after you're gone."

Chloe sniffed and Zoey huffed at her response and they simultaneously put their hands on their hips and cocked their legs. Zoey shook a lock of red hair out of her eye and Chloe rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"You won't be able to keep it from us forever." Chloe snapped snottily. "We'll find out what you're planning."

To Alma's surprise, Molly sighed in defeat and nodded her head slowly. "You're right." When she saw Alma's shocked expression, Molly shrugged. "She's right." It was then Alma saw a mischievous twinkle in her friend's chocolate brown eyes. Chloe and Zoey both looked surprised but quickly smirked triumphantly.

Molly leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered loudly, "It'll be great when we get to go visit Bailey in Colorado."

"_What_?" Chloe and Zoey shrieked instantaneously. They both clutched at their hair and squealed in fright.

"It's true." Molly said sadly. "He's leaving for three years and we were just saying how cool it'll be to visit him when he goes to stay with his relatives."

"NOOOOOO!" At the same time, Chloe and Zoey dove for the doorknob, nearly ripped the door off its hinges and bolted out the door, screaming Bailey's name as they went. When they door swung shut, both Molly and Alma erupted in fits of laughter.

"They are hopeless!" Alma giggled when she'd finally regained control of herself. "_¡Bailey pobre!_"

"Bailey can take care of himself." Molly said, fighting to keep the smile off her face.

"I hope so." Alma chuckled then picked up her book and started reading about the history of horses while Molly went over and started cleaning up her area which was always cluttered and disorganized with brushes, hoof picks, mint wrappers, and stray horse cookies. Alma was so engaged in her book that she didn't even notice that she and Molly weren't alone until Molly spoke up and made her jump.

"_¿Qué?_" She asked, closing her book and looking up at her friend.

"I said, it's almost time for the lesson." Molly repeated more slowly, enunciating for Alma's benefit, who smirked in response. In a normal speed, she said, "I wonder where Bailey and Sarah are."

At that moment, their two friends opened the door to the tack room and walked inside. Alma grinned and pointed her index finger towards them.

"They are there." She said with a giggle. Molly grinned and shook her head, her black curly ponytail quivering with the movement.

Bailey had a dark brown mullet and striking dark blue eyes that had a boyishly rogue twinkle to them. He wore blue jeans and a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he had his leather wristbands on as well. He had one arm slung over Sarah's shoulders and the other tucked casually in his jean pocket.

Sarah smiled sweetly at her two friends and tucked a strand of wavy, highlighted blond hair behind her ear, exposing her silver earring and studs. She blinked her large light blue eyes and her long eyelashes brushed her cheeks as she did so. The sleeves of her red designer riding jacket were slightly dirty and her red necktie was coming undone. Her jodhpurs and boots were fairly clean if not slightly dusty but then again, it _was_ a horse farm; dust was not rare.

"Hey Alma, Molly." Bailey greeted them informally.

"_Hola_, Bailey. _Hola_, Sarah." Alma returned the reception.

"Hi, you two." Molly acknowledged them with a wink.

"Hello." Sarah said in her soft voice, offering a light little wave.

"What have you guys been up to?" Molly asked, flashing Alma a knowing look.

Bailey grinned broadly. "We've been putting up decorations on the trails. Will's gonna lead us on a haunted trail ride."

Alma smiled. "We know, Will told us."

Molly looked at Sarah and raised her eyebrows pointedly. "And he mentioned _something_ about _somebody_ making us some costumes."

Sarah blushed but beamed in delight. "Do you want to see them?" She asked bashfully.

Alma and Molly nodded eagerly and Bailey obligingly removed his arm from Sarah's shoulders when she walked over to where her area was. She pulled back her tack box and uncovered a large black trash bag behind it. Bailey grinned and leaned against the wall calmly, folding his arms over his chest and crossing his legs comfortably while Alma's and Molly's eyes widened and their mouths opened slightly in delight as Sarah opened the bag and revealed its contents.

"I made costumes for all you guys." Sarah said, blushing deeper. "They're nothing special; just simple, small outfits I made for my friends and their horses."

"I hope you made one for yourself and Scarlet, too, _chica_." Alma said, almost scolding.

Sarah nodded quickly. "I even made one for Will and Jimber."

"It's not a vampire is it?" Molly immediately asked.

"What? No." Sarah answered, confused. Alma giggled and shook her head.

"Show us the costumes, Sarah." She urged and Molly nodded willingly in agreement.

Sarah flashed a nervous smile at Bailey, who gave her an encouraging nod, and then began to empty the bag of its contents.

* * *

><p>Outside the tack room, the horses were conversing with one another. There were three other friends as well; the wise sheepdog, Shep, the proud cat, Angora, and the excited pig, Teeny.<p>

"Shep? What _is_ Halloween?" Teeny asked frantically.

"Well, Teeny," The sheepdog said with a grin, "Halloween is when the kids dress up in costumes. Sometimes they scare one another or play pranks, or sometimes they get candy."

"Candy?" Teeny immediately perked up.

"Teeny," Angora shook her head with a disgusted snort. "The candy is _not_ for you."

"Oh." Teeny's ears drooped and her excited expression fell.

"Now, Angora." Shep gave the gray cat a disapproving look, which she pointedly ignored as he turned back to the little black and white pig. "Halloween is meant to be both fun and scary."

Teeny brightened again and she asked eagerly, "Can we dress up, too, Shep? Huh? Can we? Can we?"

"I don't see why not." Shep said kindly. "Go and see if you can put together a costume." He leaned down and whispered so that Angora wouldn't hear him say, "And see if you can give Angora a good old Halloween fright."

Teeny giggled and squealed in delight then pelted away to look for parts for her costume.

"I don't see what a _pig_ could dress up as for Halloween." Angora sniffed. "She is a _pig_ and will never be anything else but a _pig_."

Shep looked sagely at Angora and shook his head. "Be that as it may, the humans do the same thing. Halloween is a night for everyone to be something they're not."

"Well, you won't catch _me_ pretending to be something I'm not." The pretentious cat purred. "There is nothing finer than being a cat."

Shep chuckled but did not reply, and instead went off in search of Teeny to help her in making her costume.

* * *

><p>"What do you think our costumes are going to be?" Button asked curiously.<p>

Aztec tossed his head crossly. "I don't see why we need costumes at all. I thought Halloween was for humans." He grumbled.

Calypso pawed the floor impatiently and pinned her ears at Aztec. "Would you cheer up, Aztec? Dis will be fun!"

"I agree." Scarlet whinnied happily. "Sarah has never done anything like this with me before."

"We've never done anything like this here." Jimber told her. With the change in routine, even the usually-calm older horse was a bit riled up.

Across the aisle, Chili and Pepper swished their tails and tossed their handsome heads in irritation.

"How very juvenile." Pepper noted icily.

"I agree. Why would you _want_ to dress up and prance around like a circus horse when you are clearly _not_ one?" Chili commented cruelly.

"If you're not going to join in the fun, at least let others enjoy it." Calypso retorted.

"If this is your idea of fun, I definitely don't want to join in." Pepper fired back.

"Then mind your own business." Button suggested coldly. "If you don't like it, don't participate in it."

"Don't worry, we won't." Chili scoffed.

"Fine by us." Aztec scorned.

Scarlet snorted to help release the tension in the room then stomped one hoof as though she were trying to get rid of flies. "I for one," She whinnied smoothly, "am eager to see what Sarah has made for us!"

Jimber nodded his handsome head in agreement. "And what she and Bailey put out on the trails today."

To their relief, Aztec, Calypso, and Button turned away from Chili and Pepper and looked at their friends.

"I want to know why Will and Bailey were running up and down the stable in sheets yesterday." Calypso commented.

"They looked pretty silly." Button noted with an amused snort.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about." Aztec said carelessly.

Button twitched an ear at Aztec but otherwise ignored him and turned to Calypso to discuss the reasoning behind Will and Bailey's strange behavior. Chili and Pepper simply huffed and turned away from the other horses. Jimber retreated into his stall for a short doze before the lesson and Aztec turned to Scarlet, who braced herself for Aztec's virile approach.

"I really don't." He insisted. Scarlet tilted her head to the side and exhaled softly.

"It's all in fun." She replied patiently.

"Why do we need fun?" Aztec complained.

Calypso overheard his comment and pinned her ears at him again. "You sound like those two." She said, jerking her muzzle towards Chili and Pepper, who huffed again in indignation.

Aztec glared at her. "I do not." He retorted.

Button rolled her eyes and Calypso shook her head. "Mustangs." She stated with an exasperated sigh before turning back to her conversation with Button.

"Mares." Aztec snorted in annoyance.

"Oh, Aztec, relax." Scarlet urged her friend. "Just think about it for a second: for one night, you get to be something _other_ than somebody's lesson horse."

"I'm more than Bailey's lesson horse." Aztec snapped heatedly.

"I know you are." Scarlet soothed. "You two are a team, and tonight you get to dress up and be an entirely different team. Think of the possibilities, Aztec! You could be a racehorse or a zebra, anything."

Aztec slowly let his mind begin to picture him in all different costumes with Bailey on his back, and slowly his ears began to perk up.

"This . . . could be fun, I guess." He said, trying to maintain his careless façade, but his forward ears gave him away.

Scarlet nickered happily. "That's better!"

"Listen!" Button whinnied suddenly. The others instantly went quiet and Jimber woke up with a soft snort. They all pricked their ears and listened carefully.

"They're coming out!" Calypso snorted excitedly.

The horses danced in place and shook their heads energetically, except for Jimber, Chili, and Pepper. Jimber watched with amusement as his friends pointed their muzzles towards the tack room door, eagerly awaiting their riders and their costumes. Chili and Pepper scoffed in disdain but were ignored by the rest of them.

The tack room door opened and excited voices poured from within it as their riders came out into the aisle, each carrying a load of colorful fabrics and strange items that the horses had never seen before.

"Wait 'til you see, guys!" Bailey called out to the horses as they approached the stalls.

* * *

><p>Hint of a cliffhanger there. Maybe. I can't tell if it is or not. Ah, well. Hope you liked it! If you did, please review. If you didn't, please keep it to you.<p>

Oh, and if you DID read the story and if you DID like the story, I would love some requests/suggestions as to what the costumes should be! When I say costumes, I guess I mean the pairing. At my barn's Horse-o-weene, all of our costumes and our horses' costumes were related! If you still don't get it, here some examples of the costumes:

I made my horse a king and I was his jester. He was so cute, with his crown and his purple bedazzled blanket, and me looking like a freak with my Mardi Gras mask. I was going to wear this cute lil' jester hat but it wouldn't fit over my helmet (because this was a while ago and it was barn rules, I had to wear a helmet) so I made my friend Blake wear the hat and walk along with us. He was not enthused.

My close friend dressed herself up as Wanda and her horse as Waldo from _Where's Waldo?_ (reason being because her horse's name is Waldo).

Another lady dressed up as the Wicked Witch of the West from _Wizard of Oz_ and made her horse a flying monkey (which, by the way, I hated the flying monkeys, they gave me the creeps)

One girl dressed up in a princess outfit and made her horse her steed. It was kind of a lame costume because basically her horse wasn't dressed up and she was but all well.

My little sister dressed herself up in camo clothes and put a camo blanket on this short fat horse who we lovingly call "The Tank" and made him an army horse!

The only other one I can remember was this girl who dressed up as a Native American and put fingerpaint on her horse, putting a circle around his eye and a handprint on his butt, to make him a Native American pony. Not very original, but still cool all the same.

Yay! A long author's note! You're welcome. Or not. I will update like, tomorrow or the next day. I poo you not.

In case you've forgotten after that speech I just gave, if you would be so kind as to review, I would thank ye for it!

-Ro


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, I pooed you. This took longer to write than I thought it would. Does it count as a lie if I didn't mean to lie? I'm sorry.

This here be chappy 2. I think this is my first 2nd chapter ever uploaded on this site. Now that is sad. And bad. I've been so bad about updating on here. Blah.

Okeydoke! So I want to give a hee-uge thank you to my reviewers. I want to also credit **Darkfang of Deathclan** and **Yemi Hikari **for their wonderful and creative costume ideas which you _will_ see in this story, so thanks to both of you for helping figure out the costumes because honestly, that's why it took so long for me to update; I could _not _think of the dang costumes!

Alright, please enjoy.

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><p><strong>Halloween at Horseland<strong>

"You really outdid yourself this time, Sarah." Molly called happily from within Calypso's stall. She grinned down at her colorful costume then reached for her Appaloosa's bridle.

"I agree. _¡Esto es impresionante!_" Alma's voice rang through the stable from Button's stall. Button looked very pleased with the costumes Sarah had chosen for the two of them.

Sarah blushed in Scarlet's stall. "I didn't do a whole lot. All I did was sew a little, buy a couple of accessories, and find a little costume makeup." She said modestly as she ran a comb through her Arabian's long black and red mane.

"Not to mention, you came up with these awesome costumes!" Bailey pointed out as he checked Aztec's girth.

"Take some credit, Sarah." Will urged. He put Jimber's bridle on over the palomino's large, handsome head and grinned.

"Maybe," Alma suggested, "we should take _una foto_."

"That's not a bad idea, Alma. There's a camera up at the house. I'll go grab it." Will opened up Jimber's stall door and immediately, his friends poked their heads out to examine Will's costume, which suited him perfectly.

Sarah had given him a pair of brown faux-leather, fringed chaps to wear of his jeans, along with a pair of silver spiked spurs to put on his boots that clinked as he walked by. She'd also given him a faux-leather vest to match the chaps and atop his head sat his own dark cowboy hat, which he tipped courteously as he walked past his friends. They all grinned back. Will was the perfect cowboy, and Jimber matched him perfectly, with a western saddle sitting on his back that had a saddle bag attached to it, as though Will was getting ready to go on a long journey out on the range. He'd even added some rope around the saddle horn as if he was going to rope some wild cattle out there as well.

"Nice costume, Will." Bailey called out with a grin. Will stopped at the doorway and turned around with one eyebrow raised at his cousin.

"Well, come out and let's see your costume then." Will egged him on.

Bailey smirked and strutted out of the stall comically. He looked very self-confident until Aztec nudged him lovingly with his white nose, nearly knocking his owner over. "Aztec!" Bailey protested playfully. The Kiger Mustang snorted in amusement and tossed his head impatiently. The others laughed but then scrutinized Bailey's costume with interest.

Sarah, ever-thoughtful, had remembered that Bailey loved a video game called _Haunted West_. She'd researched it and found that one of the characters was a ghost rider, so she'd based Bailey's costume off of it. He wore a long black, hooded cloak and had on white face makeup that gave him a ghostly appearance. There was also a fake scar running down the side of his face and for a finishing touch, he'd added black working gloves and working boots. As his friends admired his costume, Bailey pulled up the hood of his cloak over his dark brown hair and gave an evil laugh.

"Jeez, Bailey. That evil laugh is almost a little _too_ good." Molly noted with a laugh of her own as she stepped out of her mare's stall. Immediately, her costume became the focus of attention.

Molly wore gold hoop earrings in her ears and had tied a purple bandana over her black curly hair. She wore a matching purple skirt that was ornamented with golden coins and a white shirt with short, puffy sleeves. To complete her gypsy costume, Sarah gave her a golden wrap to use as a belt.

"You're a great gypsy, Molly." Bailey commented. Molly giggled and twirled around in a circle. As she did so, the hem of her long skirt came up a little and revealed her seemingly out-of-place riding boots.

"Your boots do not match though." Alma frowned.

"Boots are a safety must." Will said firmly.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Cowboy, sir." Molly straightened her back and saluted Will as if he was an army general and she was a cadet. Then she grinned and called out, "Hey, Alma. Come show us your costume!"

"You mean 'Velvet'." Alma corrected her friend as she stepped out. Alma was dressed as Velvet Brown, a character from one of her favorite novels, _National Velvet_. She had an old-fashioned white shirt with sleeves that were puffy to the elbow and then tightened around the rest of her arm. Her jodhpurs were similar; they flared to her knee then tightened as they went into her high riding boots. She put her hand on her hip, flung her dark brown, curly hair over her shoulder, and struck a pose, smiling prettily.

"I think that Button looks great as The Piebald." Sarah stated, beaming at her friends happily.

"_Sí_, _chica_. It is because they both have black patches." Alma replied, winking over her shoulder at Button, who was watching her owner from within the stall.

"She's right." Molly agreed. "I've seen the movie."

"They made a movie?" Alma looked shocked.

"Sure." Sarah nodded. "I've seen it, too."

This apparently was news to Alma.

Before Alma could learn more, Molly interrupted, "Sarah! I wanna see your costume next!"

"Yeah, Sarah, let's see it." Bailey agreed.

Sarah giggled and stepped out of the stall. She wore a full length dress over her riding boots; it was white and layered, and had delicate green floral pattern with slightly-ruffled, off-the-shoulder sleeves. Her wavy blond hair was pinned back out of the way and fell down her back in loose, gentle curls.

"You make a _fantastico_ Scarlet O'Hara, Sarah." Alma smiled.

"Yeah, that dress looks like it came right out of the movie." Molly gaped.

"What movie is that?" Bailey asked in confusion, and earned himself three shocked gazes and sent his cousin into a fit of muffled laughter.

"Bailey!" Sarah cried, clearly horrified.

"How do you not know who Scarlet O'Hara is?" Molly fumed.

"Apparently, Bailey is doing a pretty good job at _not_ knowing who she is." Alma scowled.

Bailey chuckled nervously. "Um, is she a singer?"

"BAILEY!" The three girls yelled in unison, cornering a cowering ghost rider angrily. The brown-haired boy sent his cousin a pleading look and Will decided to have mercy.

"Don't you remember _Gone with the Wind_, Bail?" Will asked casually.

Immediately, Bailey perked up. "Oh, _yeah_!" He said with exaggerated enthusiasm. "That was a _great_ movie!"

The girls huffed and each went back to their individual stalls. Bailey sighed in relief and shot a grateful look at Will, who winked at his cousin then turned and went in search of the camera. Bailey shook his head as he entered Aztec's stall again and picked up the bridle.

"_Man_, Aztec." He whispered to his Mustang. "Maybe the girls should've just gone as themselves for Halloween. I mean, there's nothing scarier than an angry girl, is there?"

Aztec whinnied and pawed the stall floor impatiently, sending a spray of sawdust onto the hem of Bailey's cloak.

"Hey! Cut it out, Aztec." Bailey laughed. "Alright, alright, we're going, we're going."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Angora was perched on a pile of feed bags, grooming her long, soft gray pelt lazily. She purred in contentment and daintily licked her fluffy white chest, unaware of the little white shape creeping up behind her until—<p>

"Boo!" A ghostly white figure leapt out from behind the feed bags and squealed at Angora.

The gray cat yawned and stretched her limbs delicately. "You're going to have to do better than _that_, Teeny." She meowed disdainfully.

"Aw," Teeny's little white head poked out from under the white saddle pad and peered up at Angora hopefully. "Did I scare you even a little bit, Angora?" She asked eagerly.

"Not even a little bit." Angora replied whist examining her claws critically. "It would take more than a _pig ghost_ to scare a _cat_."

"Oh?" Teeny looked up at Angora curiously. "And what _does_ scare cats, Angora?"

"If I told you _that_, you would just use it against me." The feline sniffed contemptuously.

Teeny hopped up and down in place eagerly. "Oh but I wouldn't! I promise I wouldn't! I wouldn't, Angora! I really wouldn't! Oh, please, please, _please_ tell me! I promise I won't tell anybody!"

"Maybe not _you_." Angora hissed impatiently then flicked an ear towards the hay area. "But _others_ might." Then she raised her voice and called out, "Isn't that right, Shep?"

Chuckling, the brown and white sheepdog stood up and stepped out from behind some loose flakes of hay. "I think we've been found out, Teeny." The old dog said with a wink to the little black and white pig then shook himself until his coat was free of hay.

"Oh, dear." Teeny fretted. "Who found us out? Did somebody tell on us? Was it me? I do make mistakes, I know. Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry. I honestly didn't mean to. I'm a bad pig, aren't I? Tell me the truth, Shep. What did I say? Was it awful? Was it?"

Angora let out an annoyed hiss which Shep ignored as he said kindly to Teeny, "It wasn't you, Teeny. I'm afraid Angora is just too smart for us."

At that, Angora sat up and purred proudly. "That's right." She mewed. "Cats are the smartest animals of all. We can't be fooled by _anybody_."

"Come on, Teeny. Let's go find something else to do." Shep gestured with his nose that they should head outside and then walked forward with Teeny eagerly trotting alongside him. Once they were out of earshot, Shep said quietly to Teeny, "We're going to have to try something else if we want to give Angora a Halloween fright."

"But what are we going to do Shep?" Teeny frowned worriedly. "Angora said that _nothing_ scares cats."

"Not quite, Teeny." The sheepdog shook his head and looked out towards the fields thoughtfully. The sun was starting to set behind the hill, basking Horseland in a gentle orange glow. The horses in the fields were grazing contentedly and birds chirped as they flew back to their nests for the night. The leaves on the trees were hues of oranges, reds, and yellows, though some stubbornly held on to their green color, which would be lost in due time.

Slowly, the old dog grinned. "I've got an idea." He stood up and started walking towards the Handlers' house.

"Oh, goodie!" Teeny oinked happily as she bounced along beside Shep. "What is it? Is it good? Am I gonna like it? Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!"

* * *

><p>"Where have our humans gone <em>now<em>?" Button groaned.

"They said something about going to find a _camera_, and Chloe and Zoey." Scarlet replied. Her beautiful black head appeared over the door of her stall and she looked up and down the barn aisles. "But I don't see anybody right now."

"Scarlet, Sarah did a nice job wit' 'dose flowers." Calypso whinnied to her friend.

The Arabian tossed her head modestly. Sarah had woven dozens of fabric flowers in her mare's mane and tail. There were splashes of blues, pinks, and yellows that stood out prettily against Scarlet's red and black colors.

"Well, what about you, Calypso? Molly dressed you up pretty well, too." Scarlet nickered back.

Calypso turned her head around to look back at the deep purple blanket Molly had placed on her back. It obscured the saddle, so in the dark it looked like Molly was riding the Appaloosa with just the cloth. It was embroidered with golden swirls around the edge, which was frayed with delicate gold tassels that swayed whenever Calypso moved. Similar golden thread also had been wrapped around Calypso's pink reins and Molly had added matching gold trimmings to the front of the bridle's brow band. It nearly blended in with Calypso's flaxen forelock but it still felt very fancy.

"I feel pretty snazzy myself." Button piped up. Her black, white, and green mane and tail had been braided as though she was off to a horseshow and Alma had put bright green wrappings around the bottom half of her front and hind legs. Sarah had even given Alma a realistic, blue 1st Place ribbon to tie onto Button's green bridle as if she had won the Grand National like The Piebald. She tossed her head and the ribbon fluttered around her face so she shook it out of her eyes. "I wonder if I look anything like the horse Sarah mentioned, The Piebald."

"Pie?" Aztec perked up, pricking his ears forward.

Calypso snorted in amused exasperation. "Pie_bald_, Aztec, not pie."

"Oh." Aztec's brown ears drooped in disappointment.

"And anyway, Molly and Alma seem to think you do." Calypso said, turning back to Button.

Button's ears perked forward the way Aztec's had moments ago. She blew out happily then looked over at Jimber.

"You certainly look ready to go out and chase wild horses and cows with your cowboy." She teased him.

Jimber shook himself and something rattled in the saddle bag. He turned his head around to look curiously at the bag, turning his ears towards the bag.

"What is it, Jimber?" Scarlet whinnied.

"I'm not sure," Jimber drawled in his southern twang, "but there's somethin' in this here bag."

"Maybe it's just supplies." Button suggested.

"Probably." The old stallion turned away from the bag and looked across the aisle at Aztec. "What did Bailey say you were again, Aztec?" He asked in an amused nicker.

Aztec stomped his foot and pinned back his ears in annoyance but otherwise ignored his friend's query.

"I think it was a 'demon horse'." Calypso supplied.

Button eyed Aztec more closely. "What's wrong, Aztec? Don't you like your costume?"

"It looks pretty neat." Scarlet commented.

Sarah had done her best to make Aztec's costume resemble that of the ghost rider's mount from Bailey's video game. She'd given the Mustang a pair of stick-on black horns that Bailey had attached to the bridle and a pair of bat wings that were four feet long and two feet wide that Bailey had tied to the saddle just behind the stirrups, so it looked as though Aztec had wings. Also, just like the demon horse on the game, Aztec's dark brown and blue mane was partially braided in some places and had fake red feathers dangling from the ends of the plaits. His tail was done the same way. The only differences between the costumed Aztec and the demon horse on Bailey's game were that the demon horse was as black as night and had red eyes that danced with flames. That was certainly not Aztec but Bailey didn't mind, he was so pleased with his own costume and Aztec's costume.

"What's wrong, young'un?" Jimber asked.

Aztec sighed and his ears drooped in hurt. "Is that what Bailey thinks of me? Am I a 'demon horse'?"

"Don't be silly, Aztec!" Calypso whinnied. "Bailey loves you!"

"Yes," Button agreed. "You're just dressed up to match Bailey's costume."

"I heard him say you look awesome." Scarlet put in.

"Didn't you see him smiling at you?" Jimber added.

Aztec brightened at his friends' words and turned his head around to look at the bat wings Sarah had found.

"It _is_ a pretty cool costume." He admitted. "I like it a lot."

"So do I," Scarlet said as she studied the horns on the Mustang's head.

"Hey!" Calypso cried suddenly. "Where are Chili and Pepper?"

Immediately, all of the horses looked over to see that Chili and Pepper's stalls were empty.

"What happened to them?" Button asked.

"Did they just leave?" Scarlet wondered.

"No way," Aztec shook his head. "If I know those two, they wouldn't want to go outside and get their hooves dirty."

"But we're horses." Calypso said in confusion. "Our hooves are always touching the dirt."

"Never mind, Calypso." Aztec snorted.

"I understand what Aztec means, though." Button snuffled. "Those two wouldn't go far from their stable sweet stable."

Jimber suddenly whinnied loudly in amusement. "Do you youngsters notice anything? While Bailey and Alma finished doing Aztec's and Button's costumes, Sarah and Molly took Chili and Pepper outside."

"Why?" Scarlet's blue eyes were wide with confusion.

"Probably to give them their costumes, too." Jimber said.

Aztec snorted. "I thought they didn't _want_ to join in the fun."

"And I thought you said there wasn't any _point_ in this fun." Calypso retorted.

"My mind was changed." Aztec said, flicking an ear towards Scarlet.

"Maybe Chili and Button changed _their_ minds, too." Scarlet offered.

"Or maybe they got their minds changed for them." Button mused.

"What do you mean by that, Button?" Scarlet asked.

"Look!" Button pointed with her nose towards the entrance of the stable, where Molly and Sarah were leading Pepper and Chili into the aisle. Like Scarlet, their manes and tails were dusted with pastel flowers that weren't real. Chili had a purple sash around his neck that matched the purple streaks in his mane and tail, and his hooves were painted in the same shade of purple. Pepper was similarly decorated except her sash and hooves were light blue like her highlights. Molly and Sarah put the Dutch Warmbloods in their stalls and it was then that the other horses saw that under the stable lights, Chili's light gray coat and Pepper's dark gray coat were dusted with light sparkles. Aztec thought that was hilarious. He whinnied his laughter until even Jimber looked a little annoyed.

"Will you shut up?" Chili snapped, pinning back his ears angrily.

"Have you seen yourself?" Aztec laughed and shook his head.

"Says the horse with horns growing out of his head." Pepper retorted, pawing the ground in frustration.

"Hey, lay off the horns." Aztec frowned.

"Knock it off, you three." Calypso interrupted, tossing her head and accidentally shaking the golden fringe into her eyes. She shook them out of her sight and blew out her annoyance.

"Right. We don't need your bickering when Halloween is supposed to be fun." Button agreed.

"Chili and Pepper, what are your costumes?" Scarlet asked curiously.

Chili and Pepper exchanged haughty expressions and Chili answered proudly, "We're royal steeds."

"Royal steeds?" Jimber repeated in confusion.

"That's right." Pepper said snootily. "Our humans are going to be princesses, so that makes us their royal horses."

"That's pretty neat, actually." Button said, impressed.

"Look, here they come." Calypso said, and sure enough, all of their riders were walking down the stable aisle in their assorted costumes towards their horses.

"Looks like it's time to ride." Jimber whinnied.

Aztec nodded his head in agreement. "Haunted trail ride, here we come."

"Whatever _that_ means," Calypso muttered.

* * *

><p>Thus concludes Chapter two. Yippee. Hope you liked it.<p>

Uh ohs, what is Shep planning? What are Chloe and Zoey going to wear? And how about that saddle bag of Jimber's, eh? Hmm . . .

Oh, before I forget: my own two lovely horses wish you a big HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I know they would love to be here but alas they cannot.

Captain, my big black thoroughbred, is the one that dressed up as a king for Halloween (see previous chapter for details). Lakota is my baby; she's four years old and incredibly smart and mature for her age, and for her birthday, I dressed her up as a princess. I guess my babies are just born royal.

So yep, just thought I'd add that unnecessary fact in there because I wanted to. I love my lovelies. They're adorable. I mock them, it's true, but I do so out of love.

Ok, I'm officially off the track, so please leave a review before you go. But please, don't say anything mean or unnecessary. If you do not like it, then please keep it to you. However, if your critics are legit and _helpful_, by all means please critique.

Thank you very much for reading. Good luck with that thing you're doing today!

-Ro


	3. Chapter 3

Hey y'all! Chapter 3! My shortest and least favorite chapter! And I sound so excited about it! Please feel free to slap me!

Big thank you to my reviewers! I honestly would not have written this far without your wonderful words.

Annnnnd...enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Halloween at Horseland<strong>

"Is everyone ready?" Will called out. He was sat atop Jimber, looking more than ever like a genuine cowboy with his western garb and tack, his cheeky but kind grin, and his confident, tall posture that was sturdy but not tense. Jimber also looked like a true Wild West herding horse.

"I'm ready!" Bailey the demon rider answered. He turned around and arranged his cloak so that spilled over Aztec's sides and down behind his tail, just like in his game. Aztec didn't look too sure about having what felt like a loose blanket on his hindquarters but Bailey seemed fine with it so Aztec relaxed. Satisfied, Bailey pulled his hood up and over his helmet and he put an evil grin on his face that made Will roll his eyes good-naturedly.

"So am I!" Sarah piped up. She was riding Scarlet sidesaddle, with her long dress draping over Scarlet's side, which Sarah was happy to see Scarlet wasn't fazed at all by. When Sarah had first mounted up, Scarlet had turned her head around to sniff the fabric then snorted and ignored it entirely. Beaming happily, Sarah put her left foot in the stirrup and let her right leg rest just in front of her on the saddle. Once she was positioned, she reached up and checked her helmet strap. Scarlet O'Hara may have not worn a helmet in her day, but Will had insisted that Sarah did.

"We are also ready!" Exclaimed Alma "Velvet" Rodriguez, who was sitting proudly atop her winning steed, Button "The Piebald", who looked just as pleased as her owner. Glancing over at Sarah and her sidesaddle position, Alma was relieved that she was wearing pants and not skirts like the other girls.

Molly pulled her helmet on over the purple bandana then popped up onto her Appaloosa mare with a grin. She situated herself in the same position as Sarah then flashed a thumbs-up at Will to show her readiness. "Ready to go, captain!" But a cantankerous groan made her turn around and look over at Chloe and Zoey, who were also mounted up on their horses.

The Stilton girls wore similar, floor-length gowns made with smooth satiny material that had a subtle sparkle to it. Chloe's dress was lilac and had long, elegant sleeves and a delicate, lacey mauve belt around her waist. Zoey's dress was light blue and instead of sleeves, she wore a gossamer white shawl around her shoulders and there were little golden swirls going along the hem of the dress. Sarah had even taped little plastic tiaras to the fronts of their helmets to complete their princess costumes and when they had seen their outfits, the girls had squealed with delight. Now, however, they were moaning in complaint.

"_Why_ do we have to ride sidesaddle?" Zoey whined, poking the fabric of her gown accusingly.

"Yeah, who's bright idea was it to wear a dress on a horse?" Chloe ranted, tugging at the material crossly.

Sarah's smile fell and her face burned with shame. Molly and Alma scowled at the sisters irately and Will shook his head, no longer smiling, and frowned disapprovingly at the two grumbling girls. Surprisingly, Bailey just grinned and when he caught Sarah's eye, he winked at her.

"Gee, it's a shame you don't like those dresses, girls." Bailey said, feigning disappointment. Immediately, two sets of confused green eyes were fixated on him. "I think those dresses look really great on you myself." He continued, "It seems a shame to waste them, but I guess if you're not comfortable . . ."

"Who said we're not comfortable?" Chloe asked sharply, straightening her back and looking over at her sister with convincing poise.

"We _love_ these dresses." Zoey emphasized, "And we _love_ sidesaddle." With a graceful little flick of her hand, she dusted off some imaginary dust from her gown and titled her head back with an aristocratic lift of her pert little nose.

Molly and Alma giggled behind their hands while Will shook his head again, this time out of wonder, and Sarah gave Bailey a grateful smile.

"Okay, guys, ready?" Will sighed, and when everyone nodded, he smiled in relief. "Great." He turned to his cousin and Sarah and suggested, "Why don't you two lead us? After all, you know where the best places to start and finish up are."

Bailey and Sarah exchanged excited looks then simultaneously urged their horses into a walk. Molly and Alma eagerly followed close behind, with Chloe and Zoey right after them. Will and Jimber brought up the caboose, keeping a careful eye on all of their friends.

The excitement in the group heightened as Bailey and Sarah led the gang into the forest. It was getting dark and the sun was almost completely behind the hills. Bailey, however, pulled out a flashlight and gave it to Sarah, who aimed it just in front of their horses' legs. Bailey looked over his shoulder at his friends and said in a scary voice, "Welcome to Horseland's Haunted Trail Ride. Please, stay together at all times. The horse spirits are restless on Halloween and if you get separated from the herd, they might just decide to make you part of _their_ herd." Then he cackled evilly, causing the others to groan quietly.

"Bailey," Alma shook her head. He shrugged at his friends with a careless grin and turned himself forward again.

"So how does this work? Do things just jump out at us as we walk along or what?" Molly wanted to know.

"Well," Sarah answered, "kind of. Bailey's going to tell a story as we go along and the decorations just kind of match the theme."

"Hey, that's cool." Will commented from the back of the group.

"Is it a scary story?" Zoey asked, more than a little wary.

"Um, duh! It's Halloween!" Molly called out, causing the sisters to huff indignantly, but when Bailey turned around in the saddle to face them, they smiled sweetly.

"I think it's sort of scary, yeah." Bailey replied.

"Well, if your story is any scarier than Will's squirrel story then I'll definitely have nightmares." Sarah stated with a giggle.

"The squirrel story?" Bailey asked in confusion but then realization flooded into his face a moment later. "Oh, you mean with Betsy Sue?"

"That's the one." Sarah confirmed.

"Hey, that was a good one." Bailey called back to his cousin.

"Works every time." Will agreed with a chuckle.

"So, demon rider, _is_ this story scarier?" Molly asked teasingly.

"You'll have to tell me when we're done." Bailey said with a knowing grin.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Angora had finished washing herself and was strutting down the barn aisle in search of entertainment. She peered into the stalls and was disappointed to find that all of the others were out doing something with their humans, which was a pity because she found great amusement in starting rivalries or uprisings within the herd, just like she had when they knocked her into the water trough.<p>

But to not see Shep or Teeny in the stable was rather odd. Angora walked outside and looked around. Finally, she saw Shep dozing beneath a tall oak tree whose leaves were fiery red and danced in the autumn breeze. Triumphant, Angora sauntered towards Shep and frowned at him.

"What are you doing out here?" She demanded nosily. "Why aren't you protecting the horses or whatever it is you do?"

Shep woke up from his doze and smiled at Angora. "Oh, hello, Teeny. How are you doing?"

"_Teeny?_ I'm not _Teeny_, you mutt. I'm _Angora_." She hissed, bristling irately.

The sheepdog chuckled. "Very funny, Teeny. Why don't you run along and see if you fool someone else with that joke of yours? I'm feeling a bit tired. Have fun." With that, Shep lay down and curled up in a ball of brown and white fur. Within moments, he was snoring loudly.

Angora scowled at Shep's sleeping form. "Stupid dog. He's getting more blind with old age." With a haughty sniff, the gray cat turned and ran towards the horse field. She leapt up onto the fence and called out to one of the nearby horses.

"Sunburst!" She called out. The American Paint stopped grazing when he heard his name called then walked over to Angora. His yellow highlights looked almost golden in the dimming sunset light.

"What can I do for you, Teeny?" He asked in a friendly manner.

Angora's eyes widened and her manner was anything _but_ friendly. "You dumb horse! I'm Angora! ANGORA!"

Sunburst whinnied in amusement. "Sure, and I'm Aztec. Is that a Halloween joke of yours, Teeny?"

"Listen here, you blind animal: I'M A CAT! Do I look like a pig to you? LOOK AT ME!" She screeched. Sunburst stared at her in amazement and was silent for a moment before replying.

"Not bad, Teeny. You even _sound_ like Angora. Does she know you're going around pretending to be her?" He snorted. "You know she probably won't like that. You know how she gets."

"Of _course _I know how she gets! I _am_ her!" Angora let out a caterwaul of rage and frustration and jumped down from the fence and pelted towards the field next to Sunburst's to look for another animal question about her identity. Sunburst watched her go then looked over towards Shep and whinnied his laughter. Shep barked back then took off towards the stables while Sunburst went back to happily grazing.

* * *

><p>"What was that?" Alma yelped, jumping and twisting around in the saddle.<p>

"Al_ma_," Molly giggled.

"It was just a deer, Alma." Will called out. "They're often more active at this time of year."

"Phew." Alma relaxed and sat properly in her saddle again.

"You're more scared than Button is." Bailey noted, pointing back at the pinto mare.

"How can you tell?" Zoey asked curiously.

"You can tell from a number of things actually." Sarah put in. She pointed towards Button's ears. "See how relaxed her ears are? They aren't stiff or twitching."

"She's also keeping a steady pace." Bailey explained. "She's not speed-walking or drifting from side to side."

At that moment, Button snorted and blew out through her nose.

"But _that_ sign is a clincher." Will finished. "When a horse snorts or blows out like that, they're releasing stress, tension, or upbeat energy."

"Wow." Chloe studied her own horse's ears curiously, which were relaxed like Button's.

"Horses never fail to tell you exactly what they're thinking." Molly grinned and mussed Calypso's pink and flaxen mane lovingly.

"You got that right, Molls." Sarah turned around in her saddle and smiled at her friend.

"So when does this story of yours start, Bailey?" Zoey wanted to know.

"Soon." Bailey answered vaguely, causing Sarah to giggle beside him.

"Where'd you learn this infamous story?" Will asked inquisitively.

"From a friend. He told me that his friend told him, and tshe knew the story because it actually happened to her." Bailey replied.

"So it's like, a _real_ ghost story?" Chloe asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, _right_." Zoey snorted.

"Hey, believe what you want, but Ryan says that Mira _swears_ it's all true." Bailey shrugged. "_I_ think it's not a bad story myself."

"Tell us!" Molly playfully commanded. "Or I'll put a curse on you!"

"Do gypsies know curses?" Alma wondered.

Molly shrugged. "I don't know. Do they?"

"I think demon riders know some pretty sick curses." Bailey gloated.

"Oh, you would know because you've met a demon rider before." Molly retorted.

"I have, _actually_. I've _fought_ against them, too." Bailey flashed them a smirk.

Alma leaned closer to Molly. "You kind of had that one coming." She whispered to her friend.

"Yeah, I know." Molly sighed.

"Tell us the story, Bailey!" Zoey exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Yeah, come on, Bailey!" Chloe agreed eagerly.

"Just tell us, Bail." Will said calmly, smiling with amusement.

"Okay, okay." Bailey said with a laugh. The others exchanged excited glances and settled themselves in the saddle, ready to hang on to Bailey's every word, and though the riders didn't realize it, the horses were listening intently, too.

* * *

><p>"How do you want me to say this? I'm. Not. TEENY!" Angora howled. She was utterly enraged. Nobody seemed to be able to see who she was for what she was, and it was scaring her. She didn't want to be anything other than a cat, especially not a <em>pig<em>! But if others saw a pig when you were a cat, what did that make _you_? She didn't even want to think about it.

"Teeny," Shep sighed. "I think this joke has gone on long enough."

"It's not a joke!" Angora roared in his ear, causing him to wince at the volume and pitch of her voice. "Do I look like I'm laughing to you?"

Shep looked annoyed. "You look like Teeny to me."

"Then you are _blind_, you flea-ridden _sheep_!" Angora snapped.

"Sheep_dog_." Shep corrected her.

"I can see you're a sheepdog! So why can't you see I'm a _cat_?" Angora yowled.

Shep shook his head then suggested calmly, "There's a mirror up at the house. Why don't you go look in the mirror and see for yourself?"

"Fine, but you're coming with me as a witness." Angora barked.

The sheepdog nodded compliantly and followed his friend towards the house. He walked behind her so that she couldn't see the grin that was he was struggling to keep off his face.

* * *

><p>Angora has identity issues. Those are scary, let me tell you.<p>

Riding sidesaddle is really, _really_ hard.

Alma's scared.

Bailey, just tell them the stupid story already so I can stop worrying about whether or not it actually will be scary. Because it won't be.

I hate this chapter. I really do. But here's the deal: I was going to just post the chapter with the story on Halloween but then I realized I needed at least one more chapter before Bailey shares the story so I kind of whipped this up. It's honestly really bad and I'm not at all proud of it.

But the good news is, the story's almost over! Or is that bad news? I really don't know. One, maybe two more chapters! I'm trying to time it so that either I post the chapter where Bailey tells the scary story on Halloween or I finish the entire story on Halloween.

So that's my rant. Please review! But please, no flames and be nice. I know this chapter is bad.

-Ro


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